Two recent studies on life expectancies in the United States reveal troubling
trends for many rural areas. As an advanced industrialized nation, you might
assume life expectancies in the U.S. would increase and improve from generation to generation. But two studies show cracks in that assumption and neither is good news for rural communities.
Both of these reports have significant
implications for services and policies in rural areas.
The
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report Growing
Disparities in Life Expectancy published in April 2008, finds those at
lower levels of income and educational attainment experiencing declining or
stagnant life expectancies.
The
CBO study did not examine differences between rural and urban life
expectancies. Given that rural areas generally have lower income and
educational attainment levels, we would expect rural areas to have more people
experiencing declining or stagnant life expectancies.
A
Harvard School of Public Health study – The
Reversal of Fortunes: Trends in County Mortality and Cross-County Mortality
Disparities in the United States, also published in April 2008 – is more
striking. It finds that in nearly 1,000 mostly rural counties, life
expectancies for women are now lower than or essentially the same as in the
early 1980s. That means that life expectancies for women in nearly one-third of
American counties did not increase for the first time since 1918.
Most
of the rural counties experiencing decreases in life expectancy from 1983 to
1999 are concentrated in the South, the Southern Plains, and Appalachia.
But counties not improving in life expectancy during the same time period are
scattered throughout the nation, including large portions of the Midwest and Great Plains. By comparison, less than two dozen rural
counties did not improve female life expectancies from 1961 to 1983. The
phenomenon of declining life expectancies does not apply to rural men. Only
seven rural counties experienced declining male life expectancies.
Both
studies attribute much of their findings to heath outcomes and lifestyle
choices. Both identify smoking and obesity – and their rates, especially among
women – as primary causes. But both studies also point to a lack of access to health
care services, the increase in the uninsured, and increasing income gaps as
root causes that may make this a long-term issue for many portions of the
American population.
Contact: Jon Bailey,
jonb@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1013 for more information.
Dakota Rural Action has been a close ally of the Center for Rural Affairs since the South Dakota grassroots organization was established. In particular, Dakota Rural Action is a key ally in South Dakota on livestock market reforms, beginning farmer and rancher initiatives and on anti-corporate farming laws. Visit them online today. 
